Asus Z9PE-WS D8 Mavericks working 10.9.1

Posted 04 January 2014 - 05:51 AM

remote.syst3m

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After some extremely easy steps, as usual... I've got 10.9.1 working without the use of NullCPUPowerManagement.kext. Only FakeSMC.kext and latest Chameleon Bootloader. I installed to my SSD externally(usb3) a copy of Mavericks using my MacbookPro. Updated it to 10.9.1, then installed the necessary components with Pandora.

Davinci and ColorFront work just fine. In Colorfront, GTX 680 renders to ProRes HQ from SonyF65 raw at 32fps. And Renders Arriraw at 47fps to ProResHQ. On 10.8.4 it was around 27fps and 41fps. I'm interested to know what performance my Titan will have, As it was around 36fps in 10.8.4. I'll test that on Monday when I get back to Canada.

Posted 15 January 2014 - 02:31 PM

Arkanis

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I'm curious too, I'm actually running the same board as you guys... to get it booting properly I have to use three kexts (that are patched/rollback, altho I don't know where or what) : AppleACPIPlatform.kext, AppleAHCIPort.kext, IOPCIFamily.kext.

Without those the machine boots but I get a blackscreen (aka video not initialized properly). Could you be more specific on which settings/kexts you are using ? And also model and brand of your GTX680 and Titan ?

Posted 15 January 2014 - 06:04 PM

Posted 15 January 2014 - 07:02 PM

Arkanis

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Sunset I was asking all this to "remote.syst3m", since he seems to be running his system pretty much vanilla which is the best solution IMHO.

I'm not on my workstation right now, will post the files later on if you want. Yes I'm running Mavericks 10.9.1... but the installation procedure isn't that easy. You must have a real mac to install previously Mavericks, update it to 10.9.1, then install Chameleon and kexts since I was unable to boot the installer with any of the install methods.

You must know altho there won't be any PM, Speedstep or Turbo at the moment... I know Rampagedev is investigating the matter, but that means it will run slower and less efficiently than under windows. When I run geekbench on both configs the gap is pretty big (more than 10k difference).

Posted 15 January 2014 - 08:34 PM

sunset1430

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When you say vanilla did you turn off or change anything with speed stepping on the mother board? I have got it to boot, no video card though. only VGA. Would you mind walking me through your process on 10.9.1.I have another mac and every tool I could need to make that happen.

Posted 15 January 2014 - 09:24 PM

remote.syst3m

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So I've been running with very minimal kexts... I'm running BIOS version 3109 and another setup on 3206. Here's a quick overview, I'll create a more detailed one when I can tinker with it more. I have to use my Z9PE system at work on 10.8.4.... I would love to switch permanently to 10.9.1 though. BIOS settings did not change between ML and Mav.

Chameleon from Pandora 1.34

FakeSMC

Generic XHCI (zenith)

Intel1000e.

6,1 smbios

Boot flags = npci=0x3000 darkwake=0 dart=0 -v

Ethernet BuiltIn Yes

Graphics Enabler = No

BIOS Settings: ( I will create a guide for the BIOS settings, probably the trickiest part)

In short: System will boot with following:

CPU Settings for High Performance, Power settings set to MAX ie(Performance).

Posted 15 January 2014 - 09:38 PM

Arkanis

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remote :

Thank you for your reply, from 3109 and up (I've tested different bios versions) things haven't changed that much, I'm running latest bios version at the moment. Guess the two factors here allowing to boot almost clean are : Bios settings and GPU brand/model.

Bios settings are the tricky because the board has a {censored}load of options to tool with. The GPU one is the more annoying one, since this board is a real {censored} with GPUs, depending on the board and it's manufacturer the output might work or might not. Thanks for the brands of the GPUs... I'm stuck with a GTX 680 DirectCU II from ASUS at the moment.

Will be eagerly awaiting for your BIOS guide, since I tried 10.9.2 beta with MacPro 6,1 SMBIOS but it's not booting due to the modified kexts I'm currently using and are producing kernel panics.

Posted 15 January 2014 - 10:07 PM

Yes Enoch, But I've setup 1/2 a dozen times already and have used the Chameleon 2.2 installer also, really didnt seem to make much difference.

Almost done with Bios guide I need to reboot 1 more time to look at something. i just went top to bottom on all settings. NOTE: I've disabled almost all PM because I'm on 10.8.4. It will change as I'm going through them one by one for 10.9.1 to enable Turbo Boost and legitimate Power Management. I'll get to that one in Mid Feb when I'm back in LA with updated BIOS 5xxx

Posted 15 January 2014 - 10:15 PM

Arkanis

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remote :

PM even if it's not working yet is detected natively with latest bios under 10.9.1 and up, no need of NullCPU kext anymore, even the CPU is detected properly. Turbo and Speedstep aren't working either (even if they are activated), but it's mainly due to the build we are running. LGA2011 Xeons are supported and merged starting from 10.9.2 which is still in beta at the moment. Are you using a DSDT ?

Even running the beta, doesn't get us PM/Speedstep/Turbo working yet... quite some hacking is needed. I know some people is working hard on it to get it working. For me at the moment it's key to get rid of those patched kexts to be as vanilla as possible. That will bring more stability and will get rid of some peculiar hiccups I'm having at the moment.

Will compare your bios settings with mine then test the thing. Thank you for the help... nice case you have (super micro), how silent is it ?

Also on another subject, how often do you have to clean your liquid cooling rig ?

Posted 15 January 2014 - 10:23 PM

sunset1430

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I found how to set the 6.1 smcbios I believe but would love to see how you did it. I install with pandora then do everything with chameleon wizard? When using your settings I get backtrace in AppleIntelCPUPowermangement during boot.

Posted 15 January 2014 - 10:37 PM

remote.syst3m

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I did set 6,1 in Chameleon Wizard. I'm not using NullCPUPM on 10.9 or 10.9.1. Only need it on 10.8.4, So I keep everything disabled because I have to go back and forth. Omni has TurboBoost working, I want to start testing these configs.

Here is my BIOS Settings list, anything not listed is either user preference , unnecessary or menu has no options.

Posted 15 January 2014 - 10:46 PM

sunset1430

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But with 10.8.4 I need the NullCpuPowerMangement Kext? Thanks for the bios info. I will set mine to match yours, when I had 10.8 booting on mine my settings were similar except I had the clock multiplier at auto.

Posted 15 January 2014 - 10:49 PM

Arkanis

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Remote :

Thank you for this, I will give those settings a try tomorrow since it's late here... Do you know how Omni got Turbo working (also does he have PM or speedstep working too) ? Also, are you using a DSDT or not ?